


Three Times Tony Pretended to be Peter's Dad (Plus the One Time He Actually Was)

by lanceylance



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Dad!Tony, no starker, steve is also at the very end lmao he's just the chauffeur, this is all platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 08:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11916831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanceylance/pseuds/lanceylance
Summary: honestly i don't know what this is, i just really wanted to write something where tony is kind of a fatherly figure to peter so ig here it is.this was supposed to be 700-1k only but i ended up getting carried away and became the longest fic i've ever written so woo thanks mcu





	Three Times Tony Pretended to be Peter's Dad (Plus the One Time He Actually Was)

**Author's Note:**

> honestly i don't know what this is, i just really wanted to write something where tony is kind of a fatherly figure to peter so ig here it is.  
> this was supposed to be 700-1k only but i ended up getting carried away and became the longest fic i've ever written so woo thanks mcu  
> 

The first time it happened was when Tony was picking Peter up from school early to take him to his lab and help him with suit upgrades and other projects he was working on. Tony used to go to Bruce for help, but ever since they created Ultron, the two of them decided it was best for them to end their partnership in the lab and do their own thing.

 

Luckily, Tony found Peter and saw how intelligent he was, so he thought it wouldn’t hurt to let the kid mess around in his lab and help him out time to time. Sometimes the teenager had ideas that Tony couldn’t understand or do, so he would just give Peter tools and supplies and let him go wild.

 

Tony knew that the kid gets picked on because he’s a nerd, but he didn’t expect to walk right into some kid beating Peter’s brains out against a locker.

 

“What, you scared of hitting me?” The boy in a mustard colored varsity jacket sneered, throwing another punch to his jaw. “Hit me Parker. Here I’ll even make this easy for you.” He stopped hitting Peter and lifted his arms up,  grinning.

 

Tony expected him to finally hit him, it’s what the fucker deserves after beating the crap out of him, but Peter didn’t do that. Instead, the smaller boy ducked under the other’s arm and tried to escape, but the varsity jacket kid grabbed his arm and threw him back into the lockers, pinning him by his wrists.

 

The loud bang made Tony come to his sense and he quickly pushed past the sea of students beginning to swarm around them. Tony grabbed the kid by the collar of his jacket and yanked him away from Peter. He was furious, and from the look on the varsity kid’s face, it was probably written all over his face.

 

“I don’t have the time for this shit, so let me just tell you one thing: leave Parker alone and maybe I’ll consider not dropping you off the top of my tower.” Tony growled, and the varsity kid gulped and nodded vigorously. The students were stunned into silence, and Tony decided that it was best to leave before an adult figure came out to see what was going on, He grabbed Peter’s arms and dragged him out of the school, angrily mumbling something about the ugly mustard colored jacket and Peter not defending himself at all.

 

“Uh, Mr. Stark, if you’re going to pull me out of school early you’re going to have to go to the office and sign me out.” Peter told him meekly. Tony stopped walking and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing.

 

“Alright, fine. Where’s the office?” He asked, and he let Peter lead him to the room. The boy wasn’t exactly sure how the staff would react to him being dragged into the room by Tony Stark, but he knew it wouldn’t end too well if they pushed Tony’s buttons even further than the Flash did.

 

The first thing that pissed Tony off was how starstruck everyone began as soon as he entered. They kept stuttering and giggling, and Tony was honestly seconds away from saying ‘fuck it’ and taking Peter without even signing.

 

The second thing was how they kept giving Peter that look, as if they didn’t understand why he was hanging around him. _The kid was a genius, I’m was a genius, why the hell wouldn’t we work together?_ He thought to himself bitterly as he talked to one lady about taking Peter out of school early.

 

The final thing that made Tony lose his shit was the fact that even though these people were fawning over him as soon as he stepped into the room, and that he was _Tony fucking Stark_ , they denied him and said Peter had to stay.

 

“I’m very sorry Mr. Stark, you aren’t able to pull Mr. Parker out of school, he has to stay until school ends.” The woman stated, her voice filled with fake sympathy. “However, you could just wait here until he’s done.”

 

Tony ran a hand through his hair, letting out another sigh. “Listen Cynthia,” He glanced at her name tag, repressing an eyeroll when he saw her Tony-Stark-said-my-name face. “I have a tight schedule today, and I need him to come with me _now_.” He said, slamming his hand on the desk for emphasis.

 

“But-”

 

“Ah ah ah, no buts.” He put a finger against her lips, cutting her off. “I’m going to leave with Peter, and you’re going to excuse all his absences in any classes he has left.” He moved his hand away and put an arm around Peter’s shoulders, giving the woman a threatening yet sweet smile. “Understand?”

 

Cynthia just nodded, too stunned to reply. Tony then led Peter out of the school with his arm still around the boy’s shoulders, exhaustion setting in as soon as they reach the car where Happy was waiting for them.

 

“That took a while, what happened?” Happy asked, noticing Tony’s face.

 

“Shitty school.” Was the only answer he got, so Happy decided to let it go and start driving to the tower. He didn’t mention the small smile Peter had on his face the entire ride here, or how Tony still had his arm around the kid’s shoulders.

 

When they got to the tower, Tony was still pissed off, so Peter suggested a robot fight. The two of them built a mini robot for themselves and fought, and ended up getting so into it that by the time they finally ended, the sun was setting. Tony checked his watch and his eyebrows rose as he let out a surprised grunt. They arrived at the tower at around 2 o’clock, and it was already 6:37.

 

“Hey, you hungry kid?” Peter’s stomach let out a loud growl before he could even say anything. “Guess that’s a yes.” Tony chuckled, stretching a bit. “FRIDAY, put in an order for Thai takeout.”

 

“Already did boss, the delivery should be here in approximately 10 minutes.” The AI replied, and Peter looked slightly confused.

 

“She ordered for us?”

 

“Yeah, she does that a lot. Don’t sweat it, she orders your usual.” Tony assured him, leaning back into his chair and put his feet up on the work desk, closing his eyes..

 

Peter’s brow furrows even more. “How do you know my usual..?” He asked hesitantly, not exactly sure if he wanted to know.

 

“Kid, I found out that you were Spider-Man in less than 5 hours. It wasn’t that hard to figure out your favorite dish at a restaurant you go to frequently.” Tony opened an eye and noticed the strange look on Peter’s face. “Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with my face?”

 

Peter laughed and shook his head. “No, nothing’s wrong Tony.”

 

“You said my name.” The older man said, completely surprised. This must mean Peter’s getting more comfortable around him, his lips curling into a small smile at the thought.

 

Peter mirrored his smile. “I guess I did.”

 

After the food arrived, Tony began to show him some blueprints for his new projects and suit upgrades to both of their suits, as well as getting rid of the unnecessary features to the Spider-Man suit.

 

“576 combinations is totally unnecessary AND it put me at risk!” Peter argued.

 

“You still use them though!” Tony countered. “Plus, if you hadn’t hacked the suit and turned the safety mode and training wheels program, you wouldn’t have been at risk!”

 

The two of them argued and worked well into the night, and before he knew it, Peter’s head was resting on the lab table, and he was fast asleep. Tony had already called his aunt ahead of time to let her know that he planned on keeping the boy for the weekend, so he just picked Peter up from his chair and carried him to a guest bedroom that was nearby, setting him down on the bed gently. He pulled the blankets over his sleeping form and watched him for a moment, a warm feeling growing inside his chest.

 

Tony never expected to become so attached to the younger boy, but he supposed that it was inevitable. Peter wasn’t only a genius, he was kind and cared for people. He was selfless, brave, even his stupid jokes that were totally inappropriate during a fight were something that Tony managed to grow fond of.

 

This was probably the closest he would get to having a son.

_______________

The second time was when Peter was going to a party, and Tony decided to stay with his aunt since his “intern” ditched him.

 

“No drinking.” Tony told him in a stern voice, hanging him his jacket. “No drugs either. And if you're going to get laid, use a condom, even if she says she’s on birth control.” Peter started choking at the last bit, and Tony slapped his back, giving the teenager a concerned look. “You okay?”

 

“Fine.” Peter managed to get out, trying to put on his jacket and shoes as fast as possible. Once he confirmed that he had everything he needed, Peter bolted out the door, not even turning back to look at May or Tony.

 

“Have fun Peter! Love you!” May called, waving at him anyway.

 

“Don't get arrested!” Tony added, making May give him a surprisingly strong smack on his arm. “Ow! What was that for?” He mumbled, rubbing the spot.

 

May gave him a look and sighed. “I know you’re concerned about him, but you didn't have to embarrass him like that.” She said, taking out two mugs and filling them with the boiling water from the kettle that was sitting on the stove.

 

Tony sighed and sat down, putting his feet up on the coffee table. “I just don't want him to make the mistakes that I did in high school, and embarrassment seems to be the way he learns best, so I do what I have to do.”

 

May handed him a mug and sat down next to him, putting his feet up as well. “Peter’s a smart boy, he knows what’s bad and what’s good.”

 

“That makes the one of us.” Tony snorted, toying with the tea bag in his cup. May reached over and put a hand on his knee, patting it gently.

 

“You’re a good man Tony, Peter really looks up to you.” May told him, a smile forming on her face as she began remembering all the times Peter talked about Tony. “You were misguided at the beginning of your journey and you made mistakes, but now you’re trying to fix them and redeem yourself.”

 

The two of them were quiet for a while, sipping their tea and thinking until May finally spoke up again.

 

“I always thought you were overworking Peter and making him prioritize that internship over school, but you showed me that wasn’t the case.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You care about Peter, and he cares about you too. You make sure he works but you also take care of him too. I know that time when Peter stayed with you wasn’t you two working in your lab for a full 48 hours. You made sure he ate and slept and even forced him to take breaks! Peter never takes breaks, even when I tell him to.” May chuckled, taking her feet off the table and curling up onto the sofa. “You make him happy, Tony. I haven’t seen the boy act like that since his uncle died.”

 

Tony was processing her words, thinking about all the times he spent with Peter. He did care about the teenager a lot, and Tony did remember how Peter was quiet and kept to himself mostly the first time he started watching the kid. Although Tony wasn’t saying anything, May seemed to know what the man was thinking about.

 

“Take good care of him Tony.”

_______________

The third time was when Peter called Tony one day in the middle of a meeting. Tony wasn’t mad, he was glad to have an excuse to leave, but he was slightly confused on why Peter called him instead of Happy.

 

“Tony?” Another thing Tony was pretty happy about. Peter had gotten used to calling him Tony instead of Mr. Stark. He also didn’t stutter much anymore or feel the need to be polite any time they were together. He was comfortable around Tony.

 

“You might want to make this quick kiddo, I’ve got 10 people in a room waiting for me.” He told him, glancing at the window and noticing the annoyed looks on everyone’s face. Whoops.

 

“I’mfailingmyliteratureclassandIneedyoutopretendtobemydadandmeetwithmyteacher.” Peter said in one breath, making Tony completely confused.

 

“Repeat. Slowly.” He commanded, and Peter took a deep breath and complied, making Tony’s confused face turn into a frown. “How are you failing? I thought you were smart.”

 

“Uh, _nightly activities_.” Peter replied, and Tony could tell that the boy was rolling his eyes.

 

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, you’re asking me for help, remember?” He heard Peter reluctantly hum in agreement and smirked. “Why can’t you get your attractive aunt to do it?”

 

“Are you kidding me? She’d freak out and ground me! She’s already suspicious about me coming home with bruises and cuts, letting her go to the meeting will ruin my life!” Peter cried, starting to sound a little desperate. “Please Tony, I need you to do this, _please_.”

 

Tony just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. This kid would be the death of him. “Fine, but how the hell did Tony Stark end up with a kid?” He asked.

 

“I don’t know, we can make something up.”

 

“What time?”

 

“Um, he said 4 is a good time to drop by.” Tony checked his watch. It was 3:44 now, he could probably pull out of this meeting early. _Thank god_.

 

“You still at school?”  There was some rustling and Tony guessed the kid was nodding. “Good, stay put, I’m on my way.” Tony ended the call and walked back into the room, gathering his things.

 

“Er, Mr. Stark? The meeting isn’t finished yet.” One businessman stated, and Tony just continued to pack, not even looking up.

 

“I have a kid to deal with, we can continue this some other time.” The men all exchanged glances, looking a bit shocked.

 

“A child?” Tony just walked out the door, slamming the door shut on his way out.

 

When Happy pulled up in front of Peter’s school, he felt his blood beginning to boil. The last time he was here, he was not pleased with anyone at _all_. Hopefully they’ve improved since then, but Tony really doubted it.

 

He saw Peter sitting at the steps, messing with something on his phone. The boy looked up noticed he saw him, and Tony was sure he never saw him smile like that in the time he’s known the kid.

 

“Thank you, Mr. Stark, _thank you so much_ , this means so much to me-” Peter began rambling when Tony approached him, grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously.

 

Tony just looked at him at him and gave him a pat on the head with his other hand, grinning when the teenager scowled. “Don’t mention it. Where’s your teacher?” He asked, and Peter began leading him to the classroom.

 

As they walked, Peter kept talking and would stop talking about whatever he was on about to point out something or to hear Tony’s response. Usually, Tony would hate it when people would talk and never stop, but he actually found that he enjoyed Peter’s chatter. It was nice to see him get really into talking about something and see that excited look in his eyes as he made wild hand gestures, and yeah, Tony got hit a couple of times because Peter got a bit too carried away, but he didn’t mind.

 

“Damn this kid is making me such a softie.” He mumbled, not realizing that Peter had amplified hearing. Tony noticed that Peter had stopped talking, and he saw that Peter was looking down at his shoes, trying to hide the smile on his face. Before he could ask what he was smiling about, Peter stopped in front of a door and turned to Tony, completely serious.

 

“So you’re my dad now, right?”

 

“Yes, Papa Stark here ready to beat his kid’s ass for failing literature.” Peter shoved the older man, laughing a little.

 

“Take this seriously ‘Babbo’” The boy scolded, and Tony wrinkled his nose at the name.

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“It’s the Italian word for dad.” Tony was about to reply until the door they were standing in front of opened, revealing a man who Tony was going to assume was Peter’s teacher.

 

Tony stuck out his hand, giving the man a smile. “Hi I’m Tony, I’m Peter’s father. Or Babbo, as he likes to call me.” He said, snorting as Peter facepalmed himself.

 

The man took Tony’s hand and shook it, chuckling. “I’m Brad Rogers, Peter’s teacher. Come inside.” He said, opening the door wider for Tony and Peter to enter.

 

“Rogers, huh? Related to Steve Rogers?” Tony asked, and Peter mumbled something about this being a complete mistake. Tony just shrugged it off. Peter was the one who asked him to do this, so Tony’s doing it, just in his own way.

 

Brad shook his head. “No, I’m afraid, I have no relations to Mr. Rogers.” He was perched on the edge of his desk, peering at Tony and Peter suspiciously. “I must say, I didn’t expect you to show up, Mr. Stark, I was led to believe that May Parker was Peter’s legal guardian. There haven’t been any articles of you having a child.” He said, leaning back and fiddled with a pen.

 

“Well, you were lied to.” Tony said, putting a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “I adopted Peter when he was a child, and I didn’t want him in the press- you know how they get- so I ask May to appear as his legal guardian.” He lied smoothly, and it looked like Brad bought it.

 

“Very well then.” He set down the pen and clapped his hands, rubbing them together. “As you know, Mr. Parker has been struggling with my class, and I fear that he might not pass if he keeps this up. Peter is a very bright student and I would hate for him to be stuck here again-”

 

“Are you saying you don’t enjoy my son’s presence in your class?” Tony cut in, slightly offended. “If that’s the case, then I could easily arrange Peter to move schools-”

 

“No no, of course not! Peter is a joy to have in class, he’s the only student that’s really impressed me in all my years of teaching! What I’m trying to say is that if he doesn’t pick up his slack, then he’ll have to retake literature and repeating a class isn’t something you would want on your record.” Brad explained, feeling relieved when the offended look on Tony’s face fades.

 

“So what do I have to do to bring my grade up?” Peter asked, looking a bit panicked at the mention of repeating a class. A part of Tony felt bad for him, he knew how it felt to be in his shoes- Tony tended to be in his shoes _a lot_ when he was in high school- but the other part of him knew that Peter landed here through his own mistakes. Tony told him to not to put Spider-Man before Peter Parker, but the kid went out and did it anyway. None of that didn’t make the anxiety written all over Peter’s face better, though.

 

“Well, if your final essay exceeds my standards like it used to, then you could probably bring your grade up to a C.”

 

Tony realized his hand was still on Peter’s shoulder, so he gave the boy a reassuring squeeze and sent a nod to Brad. “We’ll write you the best damn essay you’ve ever read, and you’re going to raise Parker’s grade to an A.” He stated confidently.

 

“We?” Tony looked down Peter’s confused face and smiled.

 

“I’m not letting you fail this class kiddo, I’ll help you write this thing.” Peter stared at him for a minute before throwing his arms around the older man, squeezing him tight.

 

“Thank you, Dad.” Tony froze as the name slipped from Peter’s mouth smoothly, but then he relaxed and put his hand on the back of Peter’s head.

 

“Don’t mention it kid.”

_______________

Peter was standing over a grave, re-reading the words carved into the stone.

 

_May Reilly Parker._

_1982 - 2017_

 

He sighed and knelt down to put the bouquet of flowers down in front of the gravestone, putting his hand on the dirt that covering his aunt’s coffin. She was the last relative of Peter’s family that he had left, and now, she was dead.

 

The tears that were blurring his vision before began to spill over as he dug his fingers into the earth beneath him. _She’s gone_ , he told himself, lifting his other hand to furiously wipe the tears on his face. _She’s not coming back_ . _You have to move on_.

 

Peter heard footsteps approaching, and in his peripheral vision he saw Tony knelt down on the ground next to him, staring at her gravestone with a blank face. May was just as important to Tony as she was to Peter, and the two of them lost her both.

 

The lack of emotion that Tony showed during the funeral was unsettling, he seemed completely calm and collected when Peter knew he was hurting inside.

 

But now, here he was, staring at May’s gravestone with fresh tears running down his cheeks. Peter put his hand on Tony’s shoulder, giving him a small squeeze to remind him that he wasn’t alone.

 

The two of them sat there for a while, thinking about all the times they had with May until they heard another set of footsteps, and they both turned around to see Steve was standing a couple feet them, disguised with a pair of sunglasses and a baseball hat. Happy couldn’t bring himself to drive Tony and Peter to the funeral because he was afraid of seeing May’s coffin and grave, so Steve offered to take them instead.

 

“Are you ready?” Tony asked, and Peter realized that he could be hinting at multiple things. Was he ready to go? Was he ready to move on? Was he ready to be a Stark? Peter looked at Tony, who was already standing up and brushing off the dirt clinging to his pants.

 

“Yeah.” He said, looking back at May’s grave. “I’m ready.”

 

It would be a difficult journey from here, Peter knew Tony didn’t have much experience in raising super teens, or teenagers in general, and Tony knew Peter didn’t have much experience with being in the public eye constantly or living in a giant tower, but they would be okay. They could help each other out, and as long as they were happy, then they guessed that they were doing this whole father-son thing correctly.

**Author's Note:**

> also i don't know if may's maiden name is reilly ok don't get upset with me if i used the wrong name i just googled it and figured it was reilly since everyone seemed to come to a consensus  
> 


End file.
